21 Questions with Joe, Bluetrain’s New Account Manager

We are proud to introduce Joe, one of our new Account Managers. Learn about this movie-goer’s background in football, his very cool financial blog, and his unexpected guilty pleasure.

1.
RB: Where did you grow up?
JM: I grew up in Calgary but I was born in Nigeria.
RB: How did you end up in Edmonton?
JM: I came to Edmonton for school. I was recruited by the U of A for football.
RB: Is your family still in Calgary?
JM: Yeah.
RB: When did you come to Canada from Nigeria?
JM: When I was in grade 2.

2.
RB: What did you like most about growing up in Nigeria/Calgary?
JM: Nigeria I barely remember because it was so long ago. Calgary was nice. I had a regular upbringing. Grew up in a cul-de-sac so lots of neighbours and activities and water fights.

3.
RB: Any siblings?
JM: Two siblings.
RB: Are they in Calgary as well?
JM: Yeah.

4.
RB: What words would your family use to describe you?
JM: Jokester. Laid back. Sporty.
RB: You can be our sporty spice!

5.
RB: What is your family like?
JM: Loving, regular family. Fun.

6.
RB: What did you want to be when you were a kid?
JM: A football player. I wanted to play in the NFL, but as I grew older I realized I should probably have a back-up plan. Then I fell in love with business and marketing.
RB: Do you still play competitively?
JM: No. I stopped a couple years ago.
RB: Why did you hang up the cleats up?
JM: I was on my third or fourth concussion.
RB: That’s a good reason to stop! What position did you play?
JM: Defensive end.
RB: How long did you play?
JM: I played since I was in grade 7, but since my family is from Nigeria and soccer is a global sport, I started off playing soccer.
RB: Why did you switch?
JM: One day I saw football on TV and decided to make the switch!

8.
RB: What made you decide to apply to Bluetrain?
JM: I always had an interest in marketing. I took economics in university where we worked with data and analytics and I thought that was pretty transferrable since Bluetrain is very data-focused. Digital marketing is a growing industry as well so I thought this could be a great career!

9.
RB: Do you have your own personal blog?
JM: I do. Another interest of mine is finance and investing. I took lots of classes in school and do a lot of investing myself, so I have an investing blog called Newly Investor for people who want to get into the world of investing.
RB: Very cool!

10.
RB: What do you think about the world of digital marketing?
JM: There is lots of opportunity! I think as the world switched from traditional to digital, there’s going to be a huge boom in the industry. It’s definitely a growing industry.

11.
RB: Favorite food?
JM: I really like Westernized-Chinese food. It’s my go-to junk food.
RB: Do you have a favourite spot to order from?
JM: Szechuan Kitchen close to my place. I like Vietnamese food too; Lemongrass Café is awesome!

12.
RB: Mushrooms or olives?
JM: Mushrooms. You can use them in more dishes!

13.
RB: What do you do for fun?
JM: I go to the movies–that’s my go-to. I also like going to the gym, hanging out with friends, and reading.

14.
RB: What do you do to relax?
JM: Pretty much the same as what I do to have fun. Haha!

15.
RB: What is your guilty pleasure?
JM: I’m not proud of this but sometimes I watch trashy reality TV shows with my girlfriend like The Kardashian’s and Jersey Shore.

16.
RB: Favourite book or movie?
JM: Favourite movie right now is Get Out; it’s a new one that just came out.
RB: And favourite book?
JM: I like reading business books. Phil Knight’s book Shoe Dog. Elon Musk is another person I follow. He’s the real-life Iron Man.

17.
RB: Do you play volleyball or squash? This is a mandatory question from Bryan we ask everyone new.
JM: I actually play both.
RB: You ARE sporty spice!
JM: Haha! But mostly volleyball.